Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-03-18
ST. Peters at Rome.

/ ri. Peters ht Rome.
! St. Peters Church at Rome-that grand
edifice which has stood for centuries in the
Ancient City, the object of every visitors
eye, The seat Of the Roman Church
stands alone iu the world, with nothing like
ii or to compare with it. All descriptions
ofSt. Peters that have ever been. or ever
will be, published cannot do justice to The
grand buiIding-the rock of the Church OF
Rome. It was during the reign OF Constan-
zine that the oratory which contained the
bodies of the martyrs was converted into
the magnificent building it is at the present
time. On the day fixed for the beginning OF
the work, the Emperor went TO the Vatican,
auG laying aside his diadem and royal attire,
opened the foundations of the oratory and
took out twelve baskets full Of earth, in
honor of the twelve apostles. The body of
ST. Peter wes taken from his tomb and
placed in a silver shrine. st. Sylvester di.
vided the body of st. Paul, and placed ono
half of it under the altar with st. Peter and
the other in the church, on the Ostian Way,
which Constantine erected to him. During
eleven centuries the Church of st. Peter un.
derwenta great many repairs. In the subter
ranean church there are in one of the chap.
els several freacoes of the altar5, or of the
cborums, as they were called. IN 400
Nicholas V. wished to erect a temple Wor
thy Of the "Eterral City" and, under the
direction Of the most famous architects of
the day, work was begun. After his death
the stone was cot raised more than four or
five feet above the pavement. The work
was again taken up during the time of Paul
II. julius, who had taste for great enter
prises, selected the plan of Bramante, and
four pillars we're raised to sustain the cupola.
After undergoing different notifications,
the plan was committed by Paul III. to Mi
chael Angelo, who again reduced it to that
of Greek cross, the original design being
that Of o Latin cross, and made the design
for the cupola, which he began to execute.
A fresco in the gallery on the left Of tie
library shove that his object was to make
the front like the Pantheon, in order that
the dome of the church might be seen from
the piazza. The cupola was finished under
Sixtus v, by James Della Porta Under
Paul V. Carlo Maderno executed the pres.
ent front, and made ii Latin cross,
after the design of Bramaute. Plus VI.
perfected the work by employing Mar
chionni 10 buid the sscristy. The
church was consscraied by Urban VIII,
November is. 1926 It took one hundred
and seventy six years to build this grand
palace-for gucE il is-which shows how
Rome honors her apostles. The diameter of
the dome is l95 feet rom the pavement OF
the church 30 the top is 434 feet; from the
entrance Of the church TO the chair OF St.
Peter it is 613 feot At the transept the
width is $50 feet; thu nave is SS feet wide
aud 146 fee, high the aisles are "a feet
wide. On the Aoor Of the church are
marked the lengths of the most famous mod
ern basilicas The largest is st. Paul's in
London, which is 500 feet in length. The
nave ia sepayated from the aisles by eight
pilasters, sustaining four large arches on
each side. which correspond with as many
chepels In each oi the pilasters in the nave
are two nuted Coriuthiau pilasters OF white
marble, S3 feet high, which support an en-
tablature which runs around the church.
Between the pilasters are inches containing
statues, sixteen feet high, Of the founders of
the different religious orders. Ou the sides
of the large pilasters which suppoFtthe arch
es are medalions of the popes, sustained by
two children il white marble. Bstween the
medalions are two children holding
the emblems of the papal power,
sculptured by Bernini by order of Innocent
X, to whose arms the doves on the pilasteis
refer The holy water vases are supported
by Angels six feet high, though, On hrst oe.
holding them, the visitor would suppose
them &c be of the ordinary height OF little
children, SO great is the size of the building.
The letters around The dome tn Is Petrus,
are six feet in height. The pen in the hand
Of one of the evsugeiists, who are placed al
the four corners of the dome, is of he same
lepgtb--six feet-though it appears to be
of the ordinary size. The mosaics are, per-
haps, amongst the wonders Of st. Peters.
The dome is covered with them ; and the al
tar pieces are composed entirely of them,
save the painting, which is placed over the
altar, opposite the entrance to the sacristy.
The floors are composed of marble of va
rious oolors, arranged in ornamental form.
The roof is succeed in sunken squares or
panels, richly gilded, and forms an almost
perfect semicircle. The chapel of the choir
is filed with etalls made of walnut, and
contains the famous altar by Mosca. There
are over one hundred marble pillars;
twenty-nine altar pieces, costing each more
than $4,000; one hundred and thirty-6ve
statues and twenty monuments, some OF
which cost $4,000.
Another curious case of apparent sensa-